Hey guys,Yay, we love happy endings. For those of you having troubles with Amazon, we recommend the click-to-call feature, and their executive customer relations email: ecr@amazon.com.I know customer service snafus around Christmas time are to be expected and I always do what I can to avoid them. I order as insanely early as I can, try to stick to merchants that have a good track record and, whenever possible, avoid using Fedex. But things still can, and will, go wrong.
On the Thursday evening before Christmas my mother called me to say that she wanted to get a digital camera for my sister as a last minute gift. Since I am an Amazon Prime member and can get free second day shipping, she thought I'd be her best bet.
I logged on to the site, found the model she wanted and noticed that it said if I ordered within the next two hours I could have the shipping upgraded to overnight for $1.99. I finished up the order and called my mother back to say the camera would be here Friday, the 21st and then went to bed.
In the morning I checked the order status. UPS said that it was on time for delivery that day (in Washington, DC) but the tracking info said nothing beyond the fact that it had been picked up from Amazon in Kentucky at 3:46 that morning. It didn't seem like an issue so I just went on about my day. Every so often I would check the tracking info but it never updated beyond the 3:46am pickup. Late in the afternoon I called UPS where, surprisingly for it being so close to Christmas, hold times were pretty short. UPS tells me that, due to volume, their system is slow to update. It still shows on time for delivery today so I will receive it today. I ask what the deadline for "today" is and I'm told 7:00pm.
7:00pm comes and goes. Around 9:00pm I check back on the tracking info. Not only has it still not updated from the original pickup time, it still shows as being on time for delivery that day.
I call UPS again.
Again, reasonable hold times and apologies all around. I'm told again about slow updates to the system and am assured that it will be delivered Monday, Christmas Eve. Whatever. Off to bed.
Saturday morning I check in again. The tracking info is still exactly the same. I call UPS and try, once again to convince them that this shipment has gone missing. It was supposed to have been delivered the day before and the tracking info has not changed since the package was picked up eighteen hours ago and still shows it as being on time for delivery *the previous day*. This finally begins to make sense to them. I'm told that I'll have to call Amazon and have them start a trace.
This makes no sense to me. Once UPS has taken possession of the shipment I don't see this as being Amazon's problem anymore. But since I'm getting nowhere with UPS I decide to give it a shot.
I log into Amazon's support section and instead of a phone number to call I'm presented with a box that I'm to click to have them call *me*. Although skeptical I click away and almost immediately my phone rings. Kind of spooky, actually.
I explain the situation to the rep, expecting to get nowhere. He puts me on hold for about ten minutes. When he comes back he tells me that Amazon to going to ship me a replacement camera. It will be delivered, by private courier, Christmas Eve, free of charge.
It takes me a minute to process this. I repeat it back to him to make sure I haven't misheard him. He confirms. I thank him and hang up. E-mail confirmation arrives within half an hour.
Thinking my problems are over I head off to the movies with friends. When I arrive home I have a notice on my apartment mailbox that I have a package waiting in the management office, which is now closed until the day after Christmas. With a sinking feeling I go upstairs and check the UPS site. Yes, the tracking info on that first shipment has been updated. After the pickup time in Kentucky two days before is now a single line, "Delivered." Nothing else. No interim steps at all.
I now have no idea if Amazon is going to ship the second camera or not since now, as far as they're concerned, I've received the first one. And at this point I don't care much either. I decide I'm just going to let this play itself out and see what happens.
About 6:30pm Christmas Eve a courier delivers the second camera directly to my door.
Amazon even paid for the return shipping on the first camera since it didn't arrive on time. I just had to print out the label and drop it off at UPS.
These days you're lucky if you can get any resolution at all from customer service when things get mucked up. I am completely floored at how far Amazon went above and beyond to fix a problem that, in my opinion, they weren't even responsible for.
I buy a lot of books, DVD's and the like. From now on, whenever I can, Amazon's getting my money. They've earned it.
-William
P.S. My sister loved her camera.
(Photo:zyphbear)
Rock on Amazon.
]]>Year and a half ago I order two games: Phoenix Write ace attorney, and Trauma Center. Both were highly recommended and rare DS games.
Acording to the Amazon site:
Phoenix Write - In stock
Trauma Center - Next stock will be in a week.
This was the end of August. (Important point)
Soo...
I order both games, select free shipping. Check, yeah get here by the start of September. Great! I'll have them in time for my trip. Get my order confermation the next day, and...
Wait a second. Both games are shipping mid NOVEMBER?
So starts the fun. I email them asking WTF was going on.
They email me back wanting more info.
I send it to them.
They mail me back saying I needed to call them.
Now a week and a half latter, I check the site, figuring maybe one of the games was late coming in or something. Nope, both in stock, ready to ship.
So I call. Stuck waiting for 15 mins for someone to pick up. Sitting with the site before me. The guy picks up, and we talk.
He tells me that Phoenix write is back ordered. WTF? I ask him:
1) Why I had to call to find this out.
2) Why their site had said for OVER A WEEK that it was in stock ready to ship.
He had no answer for either question.
I was pissed off. I wasted all this time trying to get an answer, when the answer was that no one had bothered to update their website stock in a week, and they couldn't be bothered to tell me my game was back ordered.
I told him I was going to cancel my order if something wasn't done to fix their error. If they had told me when I FIRST asked over a week ago about the one item being back ordered, I would be happy.
If they had updated their site within a day or two I would have been happy. (As a side note, I checked, and THREE WEEKS LATTER it was STILL showing the game in stock.)
Three days latter, Trauma Center arrived at my place. So I guess they broke their rules of not splitting up a free shipping order and split it up.
Phoenix Write, I should add, showed up a month before they said it would. (Mid Sept.)
]]>And that's standard operating procedure for auction/individual sellers through a larger site. Ebay is, tbh, worse, because paypal handles all their requests (unless you paid cash or MO, then you're screwed)
]]>I really like Amazon, of course I haven't bought much outside of Audio CDs, books, and DVDs. It's also the only real alternative to eBay when searching for a hard to find item.
]]>It was totally my fault, but they refunded the order immediately and had a new order shipped out to my new address.
Also, the hold times on the phone were less than 30 seconds. It was an outsourced Indian call center, sure, but they had excellent English and very helpful attitudes. Go Amazon! I'm renewing my Prime membership for sure.
]]>I am an Amazon Prime member, and have almost always had great service. First, if I order something like a DVD, Blu-Ray or CD using my free 2 day shipping, I usually get it in less than 24 hours (assuming the next day is a business day) - this even happened with an XBox 360. When the present that my mom bought for me went astray, they sent another overnight. The best was when I bought a product that worked just fine, but did not meet my needs through no fault of the product (as I made sure to explain) Amazon sent me a return label within hours and I had my money refunded within 48 hours. They're not perfect, but they're better than any alternative I know of.
]]>I ordered a last minute gift and selected Saturday delivery. For some reason, the package was late leaving the warehouse and couldn't reach me until Monday. By the time I opened my e-mail Saturday morning, Amazon had already notified me of the delay and credited the shipping charges back. That left me feeling generally positive.
Then I went online right after Christmas to look for an accessory for the camera that I purchased for my mother. The price had dropped by $10. I thought why not apply for the 30-day price guarantee. I almost fell off of my chair when Amazon's associate informed me that at some point in the last 30 days, the price had been $25 lower than what I paid and he issued me a $25 credit even though I had never seen that price.
I have been a Prime member since its availability (all of my relatives are out of state, so it pays for itself during Christmas alone) and have always been loyal. After this Christmas, I am a fanboy. In contrast to Amazon, my brother had to argue with a manager at Best Buy just to get them to match their own online promotion in the store. Needless-to-say, next year EVERYTHING is coming from Amazon.
]]>1) I'm well aware Amazon has no control over refunds, but when the seller is obviously getting repeated negative feedback when before there was none, a month is a ridiculous amount of time to wait for a refund.
2) The item WASN'T ordered with super saver shipping, I was using that as an example of how stupidly long it takes to get here. Nor was that an item by a merchant, it was Amazon itself.
3) It's stupid to order an item by two-day shipping on a Thursday evening and wait until nearly a week later for it to arrive. The item should have been processed in 24 hours or less, and in fact it was: my account page said it was shipped on that same Friday. At the very least it should have arrived on Monday or Tuesday, not a week later. And yes, I KNOW shipping is not done on weekends.
Anyway, I didn't need that item by the end of the week, I'm just saying there's no reason for it to have taken that long.
]]>*still waiting for that refund on the modem that never arrived from UPS*
]]>I believe UPS's contract with Amazon makes UPS pay! A courier(UPS contractor) picks it up at Amazon's fulfillment center and takes it to the local airport, then at the other end another contractor picks it up and delivered it. Let me tell you that bill can run upwards of 400 bucks...so enjoy and be glad they play the percentage game.
]]>That's some shady shiz right there. Ok, one demerit for Amazon in my book. I never thought they'd shaft a customer like that. At least, that's been my experience.
]]>I had a great experience with Amazon this year, too (or last year, I guess). I ordered DVDs on Dec. 20 and paid for 2 day shipping with estimated arrival on the 24th. I checked the order status Friday morning and it said that the order wouldn't even be shipped until the 27th. I sent an email to Amazon saying how I know this is a busy time of year but I wouldn't have paid for 2 day shipping had I known my order wouldn't be shipped until after Christmas and it wasn't fair, blah, blah, blah. They refunded my shipping costs and apologized. I get to my parents' house Friday night and the package had already arrived! I paid for 2 day shipping, got a refund for that shipping and ended up getting overnight delivery. It was just a mix up in the system, I guess. I'll definitely keep using Amazon.
]]>I've used "same day" several times, and for $5.99 it's absolutely frikkin awesome.
]]>This is probably what caused this problem in the first place, because the site showed the item in stock when it had already been purchased. I think this is is their practice to get you to purchase from them, then have you wait around while they rack up orders for ghost products. This seems pretty shady. While the CSR was helpful, the best she could do was upgrade me to two-day shipping, which is fine, but still 22 days after I ordered the item, and a full two weeks later than I expected to have it in hand.
]]>@elislider: Agreed, I had a problem with one of Amazon's shipping centers not putting enough postage on a box that arrived, and I emailed to request a credit for the postage due. The initial response was that I should go track down someone at the post office to have it resolved. I said no, then got another email from another rep saying they were sorry and they issued a credit. One year they sent me a free travel mug out of the blue. I like Amazon.
]]>That does sound really odd. I know orders are filled in the order received, so don't worry about someone ordering today getting the item before you. Amazon does zealously over-estimate shipping delays, "under-promise, over-deliver."
Best thing to do...call Amazon during the day (particularly mid-week mornings) and you have a much higher chance of getting an American rep. Also, calling at midnight on weekends, you'll most likely get British/Irish rep. If you get someone from India, just hang up, redial and press 7 to try again. Third time's the charm!
Also, you can tell when you're going to get connected to India because the holiday/xmas on-hold music is still being used and all the on-hold music that the India call centers use have a really low-quality hiss/scratchy noise. Just another clue/indication to whether or not you're being transferred to India.
I've always had great experiences with every rep outside of Asia/India. They are all empowered to keep you as a customer. Don't be afraid to ask for a shipping upgrade to overnight or second-day for all of your "inconveniences." I've asked and have received the upgrade both before and after I became a Prime member.
I hope this helps.
]]>I'll order things from them occasionally but I'd never trust them for large purchases, important gifts, or timely delivery of anything.
]]>1) Amazon.com has no control over Amazon Marketplace sellers. Its like Half.com. Your not ordering from Amazon, you're ordering directly from the seller. They will guarantee you get the product and will refund you if you don't, but there is a waiting period to make sure you didn't receive the item. Sometimes sellers take a while to ship.
2) Super saver shipping applies to items stocked and sold by Amazon, not Marketplace sellers.
3) The present you ordered with two-day shipping on Thursday night would not have made it to your hose that week under any circumstance and probably was not filled until the following week. Two-day shipping = no delivery on weekends, and you order right at the end of the week so you got caught in the weekend limbo. So lets go through this timeline:
Probable Scenario:
Thursday night: Placed Order
Friday: Order processing, item ships out 24-48 hours, but turns out that its going to be 48 hours
Friday evening: Order transfered to another warehouse with item in stock
Sat/Sun: No movement per UPS
Monday: Order processed, filled, and shipped
Tuesday: En Route
Wednesday: Delivered
Hence the reason why you need to order by Wednesday if you want the item before the end of the week. Otherwise, "Weekend Limbo" kicks in.
Now, lets look at the best case scenario:
Thursday night: Order placed
Friday: Order processed, filled, shipped
Sat/Sun: No movement per UPS
Monday: Day 1 of shipment
Tuesday: Day 2 of shipment, item delivered
So even in the best case scenario, you would have received the item only one day earlier...Tuesday.
What if you upgraded to one-day shipment?
Thursday night: Order placed
Friday: Order processed, filled, shipped
Sat/Sun: No movement per UPS
Monday: Day 1 of shipment, item delivered
You would have received it Monday. So the moral of the story...if you need something towards the end of the week, go to a brick and mortar store. Even better, plan ahead and order earlier.
]]>@dcndn:
Did you check the item's availability before ordering? That's the one thing about Amazon I don't like, the vague availability on the product listing page. Additionally, the time listing that says "order within XX hours and XX minutes and get it tomorrow" are most of the time inaccurate. From my experience, the shipping cutoff time for west coast customers is 10AM if you want the item to be packed and shipped the same day (assuming the item is in stock and available to ship the same day)
@JMH:
If you have an Amazon warehouse near you, ground is as fast as express shipments. For example, here in SF Bay Area, ordering a book from Amazon that's in stock in their Reno warehouse will get you the shipment next day via ground. But unfortunately, there's no way to determine where your order will end up. Kansas? Kentucky? California? Texas? Who knows?!
]]>Once, I ordered a PSP from a seller who--at the time--had very high feedback. Still, the item never came and despite negative feedback piling on the seller, Amazon refused to have anything to do with taking care of the situation for a -month-. The person I'd ordered it for had been expecting it for their birthday and since I was low in funds, I couldn't just go splurge on another PSP until I'd been refunded for the first botched order. So -that- was ruined.
In general, I find their shipping times to be absolutely ridiculous. Plenty of personal sellers from ebay ship faster than they do, and at better pricing. I ordered a game on the 30th and the estimated arrival isn't until the 8th. It isn't even Super Saver shipping!
The last time I ordered from them was for another present, I paid two-day shipping on a Thursday night, and the package didn't even arrive until the next Wednesday nearly a week later. Amazon refused to refund me the shipping costs as well despite constant attempts.
-Finally-, their auction service is ridiculous. The amount of money they claim is insane. I sold a textbook recently for about $40 and Amazon took nearly a $10 cut.
I absolutely loathe the company and can't stand to do business with them whenever possible. Sometimes they might have the best prices, especially on books from individual sellers, but I hate having to go through them directly.
]]>Amazon Prime is best program ever. They made a great decision to start it. I go to Amazon first for whatever I am looking for.
]]>It seems so easy to give customers good customer service, I dunno why companies don't all do this. It's really not that tough.
]]>Jeff Bezos, if you're reading this, your company bloody well rocks. I just wish you'd send out free coffee travel cups like you did that one year. I loved mine.
]]>Amazon got 90% of my xmas shopping business this year - some of the sales they had on toys over the summer could not be beat. Every single customer service interaction I've had has gone smoothly and made me happy. I had a preorder item that did not come on time and they gave it to me for free. I love the fact that they will refund the difference in price if an item you bought goes on sale in the next 30 days.
Nothing but love for Amazon from me!
]]>I've been an Amazon Prime customer practically since they started offering it, and I order so much stuff there I haven't been to the mall in more than two years. There have been moments - the DHL lies about delivering a Harry Potter book on release day (two separate times), the bumping back of estimated delivery times by two weeks or more at least five times on ONE item, only to admit it had never been in stock, the customer service person who shouted at me that I was a liar when I said my cell phone was missing its battery, the battered books loose in an overly large box....
Still, those things have not happened lately, and everything has been arriving on time. They have really been concentrating on this sort of thing and WE DO NOTICE.
So anyone reading this who has a mail order business... this is the standard you must follow. Anyone who now feels like whining that this is too harrrrrdddd may go to their room and think it over.
]]>cant say the same thing about woot.com but thats for another consumerist submission i'll be making
]]>Must pile on the Amazon love here... I ordered a ridiculously discounted Christmas tree on the 19th of December. I had absolutely no expectation of receiving the tree before Christmas (we got one last year out of the old one), and I went for the free shipping.
Amazon shipped it on the 20th. I received it on the 21st.
Amazon does in fact rock.
]]>I log into Amazon's support section and instead of a phone number to call I'm presented with a box that I'm to click to have them call *me*. Although skeptical I click away and almost immediately my phone rings.
---That seems weird if you haven't used it, but it really is a great feature. I've spoken to amazon reps a few times when trying to modify an order and they are always very helpful. Also, I use free shipping a lot, the package usually comes much earlier than the estimate.
]]>I had a similar experience with ll bean: I ordered a jacket off their website and had it delivered to me at work. I work in a warehouse complex that houses about 6 different business. Fedex delivered to the post office and the post office... well who knows. It never got to me, although the tracking said it was delivered. Bean was very helpful and overnighted me a jacket the next day.
]]>My sister took the "all eggs in one basket" route and bought her husband one big gift from Amazon for xmas.
Well, she didn't notice that Amazon had auto-filled the shipping field with an old address of hers that it had stored (an apartment she used to live at 2 years ago).
The package was delivered to the old apartment (according to UPS), but "never arrived" according to the current tenants (she went over to check with them).
So...lost package. Amazon's fault? Not at all.
Amazon's solution?
Ship her a replacement immediately with overnight shipping...all for free!
Anytime I am shopping for something I go to Amazon to establish a baseline for prices on that item. Sometimes Amazon has the lowest price and sometimes not.
They have a good perspective on business and how to treat customers.
Go Amazon!
I call 'em like I see 'em.
]]>so he got two freakin cameras? sweet!
]]>